


Repercussions

by GrumpyJenn



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 08:03:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6044170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpyJenn/pseuds/GrumpyJenn





	Repercussions

She looked deceptively fragile.

Tom Paris wasn’t a fool. He knew B’Elanna was a lot tougher than she looked. Half-Klingon or no – and he wasn’t entirely certain all the feistiness was from her Klingon side even after talking with her human half on its own – there was a lot of attitude packed into her petite frame.

The Klingon side was just louder about it, that’s all.

But right now she looked like she might break if someone so much as jostled her. “Singed around the edges,” the Doctor had said, and she was that. But it was more than that; her dusky skin looked pale and there were circles under her eyes that Tom didn’t like the looks of at all, even though the Doctor said she was going to be fine.

“You okay?” He said it out of the side of his mouth as they stood at parade rest in full formal gear in the area they had just transported to. He wasn’t at all sure she was up to dealing with ceremonial thanks from the people of Rakosa V.

“Fine,” B’Elanna said shortly, but he didn’t believe her; there was strain showing around her mouth that was somehow different from her usual annoyed-to-angry look.

More like the look of guilt and shame she had shown when they were talking about the Dreadnought and her part in reprogramming it.

The Captain caught Tom’s eye over B’Elanna’s head, and she nodded once.

Looked like he wasn’t the only one who thought B’Elanna needed someone to keep an eye on her. So he nodded back to Captain Janeway, and she gave him the barest ghost of an approving smile.

Then the Rakosians came in, and if Tom had thought B’Elanna was tense before, well… they weren’t even standing that near to one another, but he could _feel_ the slight shudder that wracked her petite frame. He stood there, feeling helpless, as the Rakosian minister or whatever he was gave effusive thanks and B’Elanna got more and more tense.

Finally, when the minister turned to her, commending her for, “the personal risks she took in saving the people of Rakosa V,” B’Elanna broke.

She didn’t show it much; to anyone who didn’t know her she’d have seemed embarrassed by the attention, maybe even shy. But she muttered something about just doing her job, excused herself, and… left. “Our apologies,” Captain Janeway said to the minister. “She is still recovering from the ordeal.” She gave Tom a _look_ as the minister protested that it was really no problem, of course the young woman was overwrought, and Tom nodded his excuses and exited by the same door the engineer had.

He found her sitting in a little alcove, arms around her drawn-up legs and chin on her knees. “It’s okay,” Tom said awkwardly, because she didn’t look okay. But she looked up at him and smiled. It was a tired, sad little smile, but it was a smile, and she patted the ground next to her in invitation.

Tom sat, and after a little hesitation, he put his arm around her tense shoulders. “Some of them were still killed, you know,” B’Elanna said in an almost conversational tone. Tom wasn’t fooled; she was very upset. “The ones in the fighter ships, the ones who got caught by the plasma wave.” Her voice cracked, and Tom felt his arm tighten around her.

“I know.”

“I just want…”

“I know.” He did know. He’d been there, felt the guilt.

“Tom?”

“Hmm…?”

“We’d better get back,” she said, and swiftly kissed his cheek, then stood up.

Tom sighed, and got up to follow her back to the reception. “I know.”


End file.
